


A moment of weakness

by Isilloth



Series: Galaxy far far away: Heather Ryder [1]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28487928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isilloth/pseuds/Isilloth
Summary: Heather Ryder felt overwhelmed. She just needed someone who would hear her and help her with running thoughts.
Relationships: Jaal Ama Darav/Female Ryder | Sara
Series: Galaxy far far away: Heather Ryder [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171916
Kudos: 5





	A moment of weakness

She was jittery. But not sad. Scott finally woke up. And their mother… their mother was alive. And that’s was an end of good news. The Reapers in Milky Way… She didn’t know what to make of it. She felt just overwhelmed now. It was too much for her. All this information, and, of the top of it that what was happening here, in Andromeda. She needed some distance. But how to find it?

After meeting with her brother, next to their mother capsule, the mother they probably weren’t to see anytime soon, she went to Pathfinder quarter. It was once their father, and now, technically, hers, but she still felt Alec’s spirit here. She spent her times mostly on Tempest, but now she decided to hide here. She sat on the bed, wrapping herself in a blanket, making the barrier symbolic between herself and the world. This wasn’t what she usually did, being rather a woman of action, but she needed to process this. And she didn’t want to be alone.

“Jaal?” she launched her communicator.

“Heather? How did your meeting go? Is something wrong?” He must have heard trembling of her voice. Her heart felt immediately warm when she heard his voice.

“No… Yes… I don’t know,” she hesitated. “Jaal, could you come here? To Pathfinder’s quarter. I need you.”

“Of course, I’ll be there soon.”

When they disconnect, Heather just looked at the wall for a moment. She needed to organize her thoughts, talk about all of this with someone. And later she would have to start to act. Pathfinders from other arcs had some idea already. It was somehow reassuring.

Knocking to the doors snapped her out of the numbness. She stood up from her cocoon on the bed. She stood up and smoothed out her clothes before she opened the door.

“Heather, what’s happened?” Jaal was concerned.

“A lot,” she said when the doors were closed and she cuddled into him. Jaal embraced her, but he was silent, waiting for when she would be ready. They sat, and Heather still held Jaal’s hand. She needed closeness, reassurance.

“Scott woke up,” she decided to start at the beginning.

“But that’s good. I guess that not all that’s happened. What’s wrong, my darling? How did the talks with the leaders go?”

“Well, it’s not. And the meeting? Now I feel like if it’s happened days ago, but it was only a few hours,” she stopped for a moment, collecting her thoughts. She sighed. “And it wasn’t very good. They don’t want us to go to Meridian, but we will find a way. Something else happened. SAM unlocked last father’s memory.” Jaal squeezed her hand. That was something she needed now.

“Father was hiding a lot. I… Don’t think I’m exactly sad just… It’d hard to process and I have very mixed feelings. It’s turned out that my mother isn’t dead. She’s here, in stasis, waiting for a cure for her condition. Father was desperate to keep her alive. But still, I don’t think I will see her anytime soon.”

Jaal stroke her cheek.

“I can see it’s not all. So far the news was rather good…”

“So far…” She lifted her head. “In the Milky Way, after our departure happened… bad things. We may be now the last humans in the Universe. Soon after the arcs, the galaxy was attacked by the Reapers. The Reapers, who every 50 000 years clean the galaxy of all traces of life. And our journey was, in fact, an escape. The benefactor knew about it, plan it out and… Jaal, what if we are the last humans? Last asari, krogans, turians and salarians? If there nothing, no one left?”

“There is so much pressure on you, even more so…” He hugged her.

“Yes… And moreover… Even if I knew I would never see it again, I knew that there, somewhere is Earth, human cities and my old home. And now…”

“We would have to make this place your how now.”

“Oh, Jaal.” She felt hot tears running through her cheeks. And she couldn’t fall apart. She would have to go to meeting with other Pathfinders in a moment. She broke away from Jaal’s already wet chest and wiped her eyes. In her life, there was no place for moments of weakness. Especially now, when on her was so much more responsibility.

“I had to go to the Pathfinders’ meeting.” He said, standing up. “But later, I want you to meet someone.” She smiled, wiping the last tears, and Jaal returned the smile.

* * *

“Scott, I wanted to introduce you to someone.” They approached her brother’s bed, hand-holding.

Scott sat, looking at them questioningly.

“That’s Jaal Ama Darav, my… boyfriend.” Jaal smiled hearing this.

“Well, well, well, I see that I missed a lot when I was asleep. Scott Ryder, Heather’s brother, nice to meet you,” he stood and held out a hand that Jaal shook

“After all you slept or over 600 years. One may miss a lot after such a nap.”

“And over half a year longer than you did. But, where are my manners? Please, sit down.” He pointed at his bed. Heather and Jaal looked at each other when Scott sat.

“I think we rather stay,” she said.

“As you wish, dear sister. Just don’t call me rude.”

“I would never dare to.”

Oh, she missed this, missed her brother terribly, when she trembled for his life when she wasn’t sure if he ever woke up. And now she could have them both, even if she would have to left Scott here and go on a mission soon. Even if the Earth was gone, her hoe was here, among the people she loved.


End file.
